Saudi Major General Ahmed al-Assiri, who has allegedly been fired over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, took part at a meeting in Riyadh in 2017 that involved plans to assassinate the kingdom’s “determined enemy,” Iran’s Major General Qassem Soleimani, as well as sabotaging Iran’s economy, The New York Times reports, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
The March 2017 meeting in Riyadh brought together businessmen that “pitched a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives to sabotage the Iranian economy,” read the report released Sunday.
“Top Saudi intelligence officials close to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman asked a small group of businessmen last year about using private companies to assassinate Iranian enemies of the kingdom,” it said.
As the meeting came at a time that bin Salman was consolidating his power in the kingdom, the report concludes that planning for assassinations, like that of dissident journalist Khashoggi, started “since the beginning of Prince Mohammed’s ascent.”
Assiri’s top aides also “inquired about killing” Iran’s General Soleimani as the attendees were trying to “win Saudi funding for their plan,” read the report by the US daily.
General Solemani has been at the forefront of Iran’s advisory efforts in Syria and Iraq, two Muslim countries suffering from Takfiri militancy, allegedly backed by Saudi Arabia and some other US allies.
Iran’s foreign ministry has accused Washington of seeking to wage an extensive “psychological war” against Tehran, insisting that such US measures are not worthy of much concern.
The new revelation adds to the embarrassment the US ally is facing in the wake of Khashoggi’s assassination at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul as well as violation of human rights in the war on Yemen.
“The interest in assassinations, covert operations and military campaigns like the war in Yemen — overseen by Prince Mohammed — is a change for the kingdom, which historically has avoided an adventurous foreign policy that could create instability and imperil Saudi Arabia’s comfortable position as one of the world’s largest oil suppliers,” added the report.
Turkish intelligence intercepts reportedly show that Khashoggi, who was last seen entering the Saudi mission in Istanbul on October 2, was murdered on a direct order from the Saudi de facto ruler.
Saudi Arabia has acknowledged the murder, yet left many questions unanswered.
Khashoggi had been there to obtain a document certifying he divorced his ex-wife.
This news report leaked to the NYT for publication now, a year later, shows a powerful effort to get MBS out of power. That’s one lesson from this report. CIA wants him out. That’s why the NYT was used.
The other, that General Soleimani is the target of assassins is not news. Only the magnitude of the “contract” for the hit is so enormous that we are certain his value in the psychotic eyes of the enemies of Iran is greater than anyone could imagine.
He isn’t head of the military. He isn’t head of state. He’s a General, charismatic, a master tactician and brave, not more. But for the Israelis, US CENTCOM, Saudis and the rest of the pathological leaders, strategists and propagandists who are trying to destroy Iran, Soleimani is the Holy Grail.
If they could just eliminate the General, they apparently believe that they will defeat and destroy all Iran.
We now see clearly that the psychosis amassed against the Iranians is historic.
It may soon approach the catabolic state of Russophobia.
God bless the General. May he survive all the operations, plans, ambushes and traps conceived to kill him.
The CIA wants MbS out, but the Mossad wants him in, which is why Trump is trying to keep him there. How old Washington howled when the MbS coup cut the old farts off from their previous sugar daddies in the KSA. Now the CIA is trying to get them back up in the saddle again. But Trump wants to keep milking MbS…
Very great, thanks.
Thank you for posting this. It is a truly astonishing statement.– “The March 2017 meeting in Riyadh brought together businessmen that “pitched a $2 billion plan to use private intelligence operatives to sabotage the Iranian economy,” read the report released Sunday.” — Okay, first, the “businessmen” being referred to here: any chance they are “businessmen” similar to the current US president who have gone bankrupt how many times? Is this “savaged-economy-itis”, some kind of disease that has to be spread around? Obviously, I don’t trust this president’s “business acumen”. I could (at the very least) urge him to consider that there are productive investments some Real Businessmen make that Don’t involve sabotaging a nation’s economy. Hmmm!–where would a prudent person rather put their money? ? I guess nowdays, nations are worth more dead than alive. This is upside down and crazy math. Must be some gigantic insurance fraud happening. Payoffs that would fill stadiums.
Perhaps the real businessmen could put together a (for example) two trillion dollar plan to revitalize the American economy. Imagine the dividends this would yield! Meanwhile, the terrible fires in California rage on, and the admitted death toll climbs even higher…..I ask: whose economy is being sabotaged right now?
Hmmm…it seems the CIA want MBS out.
The skinny little creepy Chabad Zionist with the two kitchen sinks is not going to be happy.
He put so much effort in putting a nice light on MBS. All for the love of israHell. Of course.
Here’s another story with other details on this grand plot against the General and Iran.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-12/2bn-saudi-plan-assassinate-iranian-officials-involved-erik-prince-and-trump
It tries to tie Erik Prince and the Trump transition and early days to it. Careful when reading this. Smells of Mueller and efforts to implicate Trump and his team with all sorts of nefarious plots.
But, the Israel-MBS link seems real, and the players are the usual culprits who would be involved.
Note that the meeting was in NYC. Thus, someone intended this for dual purposes. To tie to Trump and to make it seem to others on the other side of the world that it was an American government wish to see happen.
Time for Iran’s targeted leaders to act preemptively. The information is credible as Iranians had learned of this nefarious plot of eliminating high value targets. If I were Soleimani, I’d start my own war too. And I would include Prince in my list. these evil guys won’t stop until they are six feet under.
The nyt is essentially zionazi-gay propaganda. The israelis and their colonials are the ones who specialize in assassinating people. They have been assassinating Iranians for a long time and obviously plan to continue. This nyt report is likely a misdirection op to blame saudi arabia for this zionazi assassination campaign. The attempt here is also to prote more conflict between saudi arabia and Iran.
Lost me with “NY Times” reveals in the headline.
That lousy paper has been so wrong so often and shows such a slant in its news articles that I refuse to read it. To me, they have zero credibility. I don’t see any use in reading a news source I believe lies and misleads on a regular basis.